Once in a Blue Moon
by Mille.Falcon
Summary: Moving to the Gold Coast to live with her quirky uncle, Dani was looking forward to having a fresh new start to the year and making new friends. But when a camping trip with her uncle goes awry for Dani, she soon finds herself transported into a world she hardly believes! A world that's full of water, tails and just a little bit of magic.


**AN: Hello mako readers! Thank you so much for taking a chance with this story, I have just finished watching all three season of Mako Mermaids and for the most part I loved it but there were just** **a few little things that I found a bit unrealistic (as in plot holes and character reactions and so and so). Nonetheless I was hit with inspiration to write and decided it would be fun to see what one of our own reactions would be like; being thrown into the world of mako. I will be inserting my oc at the start of season 1 but just keep in mind that the plots will be diverted and changed quite a lot to make the story more realistic and dramatic. I hope you all enjoy it and hopefully I should have the next chapter up in the next couple of weeks. No promises though ;)**

 **Anyways, happy reading! Please make sure to leave a review if you can xx**

"Dear Passenger's, we are now descending towards our destination. Please turn your devices off, set down your trays and put your seatbelt on as indicated. We'd like to thank you for choosing Jetstar and we hope you all enjoy your time at the Gold Coast."

I held my breath with closed eyes then quickly let out a shaky exhale. Butterflies danced around in my stomach as both nerves and excitement shot through my bones. This was it. This would be my new home for the next year or so.

I reluctantly turned my iPad off, still wanting to binge watch the tv series I downloaded off Netflix. But oh well, I would just have to wait to watch the rest of it when I got to my uncle's apartment. My new home.

I tapped against my lap impatiently, glancing out the window to see a beautiful sunny day and a glittering sapphire ocean. It looked like paradise, no doubt the reason why it was called Surfer's Paradise. It was surreal to think that I would be residing in a holiday destination for so long, but then again I still had to go to school so there was a downside. My leg jittered with too much contained energy. The landing felt like it was taking forever, despite it only taking a few minutes or so. I was just too eager to go out and explore, to go for a swim and get a much needed tan. Once the plane had finally landed, I was up in a jiffy to get my carry on so I could be the first one out of the plane. Once I reached the warm summer air, I couldn't help but let a smile grow on my face. I was ready, ready for an adventure, a new start.

* * *

"So the day has finally come, huh? You're stuck with your lame, nerdy uncle for a whole year. What has life come to!" My uncle Hamish joked as we drove to his place. I laughed lightly, shaking my head at his humour.

"You mean coolest uncle ever." I corrected, knowing his response. He smiled back and gave me a wink.

"Don't you know it." He said oh so very humbly. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway you said you had something planned when I arrived, so what's happening?" I asked eagerly.

"We'll get you settled in first, then I'll let you know." Uncle Hamish replied vaguely. I groaned at his lack of answer.

"Come on Uncle Ham! Don't leave me in suspense. Where's the fun in that?" I complained.

"Oh there's plenty of fun watching you get annoyed." My uncle teased, knowing I hated not knowing things.

"Are we going to Dreamworld? The beach? Sky Point?" I randomly guessed, hoping one of them was right.

"Just wait and see." He said, not giving an inch.

"Fine." I sighed, knowing when to admit defeat.

"Don't worry we're nearly there." He lied as he turned up the volume of the radio. A Chainsmoker song suddenly filled the space of the car. I hummed along, trying to make the time pass by but it dragged out longer than expected. It took another 15 minutes before we even got to his apartment, a long 15 minutes of having to endure Uncle Ham's atrociously loud singing. It definitely didn't help that he was completely tone deaf. When we finally arrived, I almost broke the car door in eagerness to get away. Uncle Hamish laughed like it was the funniest thing in the whole world. I reminded myself for future reference to buy some earplugs for the next time I had to drive with my uncle.

"So here we are! La casa de Hamish." My uncle presented, waving his arms around like a tv show game host as he walked through the door.

"Not bad." I remarked with a small smile. The apartment was quite nice. A bit on the small side but nice and modern; two bedroom, one bathroom, a brand new kitchen and nice cosy lounging area with a stunning beach view. I could definitely get used to that view. I left my bags at the door as Hamish guided me around the apartment.

"...And here we have the one and only guest bedroom, now newly dubbed as Danielle's rocking crib." He showcased lastly, a medium sized bedroom with a double bed in the middle and sliding mirrors leading to a wardrobe on the otherside. The room was a blank canvas, hardly decorated and all for me to personalise.

"Thank you so much for doing this. For everything really. The apartment is great!" I was sincerely grateful for what my uncle was doing, for letting me have a place to stay and for free for that matter.

"You know it's no trouble at all. I was getting a bit lonely in this place anyway. It'll be nice to have a bit of company." He expressed with a smile, then headed to the front doors to grab my bags. I followed along after him.

"No it's okay, I can grab my bags." I interrupted politely, reaching out to grab it off him.

"Nonsense, I'll take them. Besides I'll be much quicker than you, you little weakling." He teased, running off with the luggage before I could object.

"Oi! Who are you calling weak?" I protested playfully, nudging him roughly with my shoulder.

"Ow." Uncle Hamish moaned playfully, rubbing his shoulder dramatically.

"Ha. See!" I accused him, poking my tongue out childishly. Hamish rolled his eyes and continued to drag my heavy luggage to my new room. Once my bags were in the room, he turned back around to me.

"Right. I'll leave you to it then. You have your draws there and then the wardrobe to unpack. I've just got to go make a quick business call. Let me know if you need any help and help yourself to some food in the fridge." He told me, giving the run down before he left.

"Wait." I interrupted before he went.

"Yes?"

"Weren't you going to tell me what you had planned?" I asked with eyebrows raised and arms crossed.

"Oh yes! Right. So don't unpack all your clothes because we're going on a camping trip for the weekend!" He explained in excitement. My eyes instantly lit up.

"Cool! Where are we going to camp?" I asked eagerly. I absolutely loved camping. My family and I would always go twice a year to a local camping ground up the mountains. There were always good memories of those trips.

"There's an island off the coast not too far away. I've got a little tinny that can take us there." My eyebrows frowned in confusion.

"Since when do you have a boat? It's not like you fish or anything." I was a bit surprised at this new bit of information. I wouldn't call Uncle Hamish much of an outdoorsy person, more like a video games and movie type.

"I've taken it up as a new hobby, it's fun to go out with me mates. The boys love a good fishing trip so I thought, why not?" He said with a shrug of the shoulders. I nodded back at him, glad that he was getting out and everything. Mum had always worried constantly about her little brother, but it seemed like he really was enjoying himself and making a good life up at the Gold Coast.

"Nice. So when are we leaving?" I asked while unzipping my bag and sorting through my clothes.

"I figured it'll take you a couple of hours to unpack and pack a bag. So maybe this arvo at about 4pm?"

"No worries. Thanks for organising the trip, I love camping!" I stood up as I thanked him, giving him a big appreciative hug. Hamish chuckled patting my back.

"No problem kiddo. I'll just be in my office if you need me."

I smiled and nodded in acknowledgment and then went back to start the absolutely riveting task of unpacking. 4pm couldn't come soon enough.

* * *

The ocean breeze danced in my hair with a kind of natural grace you usually find in a professional ballerina. I took in a deep breath of the salty air. It was a taste that could only be described as the feeling when you first dive into a tall foamy wave. The sea spray was an instant relief from the hot summer sun that was beating down on us. We were minutes away from the mysterious island that was approaching, camping gear all packed in the back of the boat. I closed my eyes to take in the perfect weather, a light smile gracing my face.

"We're almost there!" Uncle Hamish shouted through the sound of the wind and the chugging tinny engine. My eyes snapped open and my head nodded in acknowledgment, the smile still not leaving my face.

We pulled up onto a small cove, beaching the tinny on the sand then dragging it further up the beach. My feet felt heavy in the wet sand and my hands were burning from the friction of pulling the boat. Sweat started to drip down my neck and my breathing became ragged with so much exerted energy. Uncle Hamish was suffering much the same but he seemed to hide it better. Once we were a fair bit away from the water, I collapsed down with a huff.

"Argh. I forgot how unfit I am." I breathed out, my chest going up and down like a seesaw. Uncle Hamish chuckled in amusement at my overreaction.

"Come on kiddo, we gotta take the camping gear and set up. I really don't want to be putting up a tent in the dark." He instructed, already starting to grab all the stuff from the boat. I groaned dramatically.

"My arms are dying! Why on Earth do I like to torture myself with camping again?" I asked rhetorically. Hamish rolled his eyes at my antics, already used to it even with my very short time being here.

"Come on, up you get. I can't carry this all on my own you know." He stressed out firmly to me, chucking a bag in my direction.

"Ow." I squeaked as the bag landed on my foot. "Oh thanks so much Hamish, I really appreciated that." I quipped sarcastically, trying to rub the pain out of my foot. I slowly stood up, brushing all the sand off my legs and bum and then grabbed the bag by my feet.

"You're welcome." Hamish replied teasingly, passing me a tent to carry. I poked my tongue out, him responding much the same. I pulled the tent over my shoulder then started heading inland towards the forest where Uncle Hamish was leading the way.

"So whereabouts are we setting up camp?" I asked stepping over a moss-covered log.

"There's a little creek not too far. It'll only take a couple of minutes to get there, maybe 5 minutes at the most?" I nodded at him and readjusted the bag I was carrying on my shoulder. We continued on mostly in silence until we reached our destination.

I heard the creek before I saw it. The light trickling sound of water was nice and peaceful but not really quite helpful to my full bladder. I winced as I tried think of something else other than running water- it was harder than it looked. The forest began to open up as the streaming noise became louder. The scenery was beautiful. There were all different shades of greens everywhere you looked, chandeliers of leaves hanging overhead with the afternoon sun contrasting brilliantly through the canopies of the tropical forest. I could see the creek, a clear stream of water flowing over grey jagged rocks into several small pools. The water glistened against the daylight, rolling down each rock like silk.

"Gorgeous isn't it?" Uncle Hamish remarked behind me.

"Yeah..." I breathed out, entranced. "It almost reminds me of a show I used to watch..." I trailed off in thought, a brief silence following.

"Come on. I'm thinking we might want to find a spot a little bit away from the creek so we don't get slammed by mozzies." Hamish suggested logically. I turned to him, slightly surprised.

"Since when did you get all camp savvy?" I asked amused, knowing that Uncle Hamish usually was quite hopeless when it came to survival skills and knowledge.

"Since I started watching Bear Grylls...and I maybe watched a few YouTube tutorials while organising this." He answered honestly, scratching the back of his neck. I laughed aloud and shook my head at him.

"Of course you did." I chuckled.

"Shut up." He spoke back defensively. I only laughed more in return.

"Alright I think I saw an old camping spot on the way. Looked flat enough and it's not too far away from the creek." I mentioned, continuing on from the earlier conversation. I started heading back from where we walked when I got interrupted.

"Oi, when did you start becoming the leader?" My uncle complained.

"When you started sulking. Come on, I thought you wanted to set up before dark."I sassed back, making my way past him and towards the camping area. My uncle followed along grumbling under his breath about 'bossy teenagers' thinking that I wouldn't hear.

We eventually arrived to the spot I mentioned and were satisfied enough with the area to set up camp. The space was open enough to fit both our tents and even had an old fire pit from the last time someone had camped there. It didn't take too long to set up my tent. It was only small and I had a fair amount of experience when it came to camping. Uncle Hamish on the other hand...was struggling. I could literally see his frustration boiling to the surface as he repeatedly linked his tent poles together only for them to completely fall out of their sockets when he tried to loop them through the tent.

"Argh! I don't understand what's going on! I did exactly as instructed. This quite obviously is a faulty tent. Completely rubbish! I'm gonna call up the company and give them a piece..."

"Uncle Hamish!" I interrupted through his mid-rant, trying to grab his attention.

"What?" He grumbled, still apparently annoyed at his lack of tent skills.

"You need to twist the poles in order for them to click together." I revealed blatantly to him. He looked completely dumbfounded and a tad bit sheepish.

"Oh...yeah, right. I knew that of course." He brushed off dismissively, proceeding to do exactly as I said. The poles finally clicked into place and didn't come apart when he threaded it through the tent. The frame was up, but the cover still needed to be put on top and pegged.

"See! I know how to do this." Uncle Hamish claimed, grabbing the tent cover and throwing it on top of the poles. He then grabbed the hammer and some pegs to pin it down, starting with one of the corners first. I stood back with my hands on my hips watching with amusement as I knew that Uncle Hamish wanted to show off his skills independently. I couldn't have helped but laugh though when I realised what he had done to the tent as he pegged the third corner.

"What?" Hamish asked curiously, suddenly self-conscious about my sudden laughter. It only made giggle more in complete entertainment. He raised his eyebrow at me, slowly considering the possibility that I was becoming insane. "No seriously, what's so funny?" He asked pleadingly.

"Y-your door his back to front." I pointed out to him, indicating where he had put the cover on backwards, blocking the entrance to the tent. The sudden look of realisation then immediate devastation on his face was priceless.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me." He sighed in defeat, dropping his head to his hands as he rubbed away a growing headache. Taking pity on him, I went up and started to pull out the pegs that he just hammered down.

"Come on, I'll give you a hand. It won't take too long." I reassured, attempting to sooth his damaged ego.

"Thanks." He replied back sincerely. Soon enough we got everything all set up and before we knew it, it was getting dark. We realised quickly that it would probably be a good idea to start a fire soon. I sent Uncle Hamish on stick searching duty before he could even suggest to try and start the fire himself. I knew that his attempt would be just as successful as his tent construction. He left in search for wood none the wiser about my manipulative scheme, and for once Uncle Hamish was able to complete a camping task without complete failure. I managed to start the kindling with Uncle Ham's lighter and a few twigs laying about. I added more and more sticks to keep it going until Hamish came back with proper wood. He strutted back with an immensely proud look on his face, his arms carrying a full load of branches and chopped up logs.

"Woah nice work! Where'd you find all the wood?" I commented enthusiastically.

"I found an old fallen tree." He explained, his face still beaming with accomplishment. He plopped it all down beside the fire, sighing in relief from the released weight off his shoulders. I started snapping some of the branches he collected then chucked them onto the fire. Soon enough the fire was building up nicely and we had enough hot coals to start making dinner.

"So what's for dinner?" I asked. My stomach started to grumble a bit in hunger. In reply Hamish simply went and rummaged through one of the bags and brought out a tin of baked beans and a loaf of bread.

"Good ol' baked beans on toast!" He exclaimed enthusiastically. I smiled and rolled my eyes in good nature.

"Of course, I should've known. You are the baked bean king after all." I mentioned, remembering all the times when Uncle Hamish used to watch over me when I was little and we would always have baked beans on toast for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They were the good Ol' days. I looked on in confusion as Hamish decided for some reason to place the tin of baked beans on his head. He looked at me with a sudden look of seriousness and proceeded to point aggressively in my direction.

"Bow down peasant, you are in the presence of royalty!" He commanded regally, placing his fists on his hips in a confident pose. I laughed at his sense of humour and decided to play along by bowing down on my knees.

"Why of course sire!" I exclaimed dramatically, my hand being placed on my chest for effect. He nodded, pleased with my supplication, then placed the tin off his head.

"And now that the situation has been rectified, the good king decides that we shall feast!" He stated, ripping the lid off the tin right at the end of his sentence. But Uncle Hamish being the clumsy person that he was, didn't quite open the can as gracefully as expected...and accidentally splattered bean juice right all over my face.

"Uncle Hamish!" I spluttered in shock, red sauce now dripping down my eyebrows. He stared at me with a blank face, trying to look sorry but completely failed when he could no longer hold down his laughter. I narrowed my eyes at him in annoyance. I was not amused.

"...the look on your face-" He cut off with more laughter. He was completely gone. I sighed, knowing I would get nowhere with him like this. I ran a hand through my hair, trying to push it away from my face. I recoiled a bit at the action when I realised that the stuff had gotten in my hair as well.

"Ugh great, it's all through my hair now." I complained to him but to no avail, he was still too far gone. Making my decision then, I stood up and brushed the dirt off my knees.

"Since you've been such a great help..." I started off sarcastically, "I'm going to go clean myself up." I stated to let him know where I was going. And with that, I headed off towards the creek.

It was already dark but with not a cloud in the sky, the stars and moon provided enough of a glow to illuminate the forest. The sound of the creek guided me to its position and it wasn't long before I found the steady stream of water. It glistened mesmerisingly in the light of the full moon and I was reminded again of how familiar this placed seemed to be. Something about it just seemed so...magical. I shook my head to dismiss such crazy thoughts and then knelt down to collect some water to clean up. I splashed it on my face and wiped my hands down to clean the baked bean sauce. The coolness of the water was almost a bit of a shock and I shivered a little bit at the change of temperature to my face but I just shook it off, knowing that I would warm up pretty quickly in this typical Aussie weather. Once I was satisfied with getting all the gunk off my face and out of my hair, I stood up from the side of the creek. I didn't quite realise however, that I had stepped back onto a slippery rock. Needless to say, I fell and right into a nice deep hole as well. I cursed my luck when there was suddenly only air beneath my feet. You could've heard my yelp miles away when I started going down the rockiest slide of my life.

"Ow." I moaned when I landed, rubbing my back in pain. My heart was pumping like crazy from all the adrenaline that pumped through my veins that was due to the unexpected fall. I sat in a crouched position to take a few steady breaths and get myself composed. Once I was steady, I looked around to see where I had fallen but all I could see was pitch blackness. I tried not to let myself panic.

"Hamish!" I yelled out, hoping he was close enough to hear me. "Uncle Hamish!" I tried again, starting to become a little bit desperate. "Uncle Hamish can you hear me?! I need help!" Silence only followed. A bit disheartened, I tried to give something else a try.

"Cooee!" I shouted, my voice almost breaking with the call. I remembered in primary school when my friends and I would jokingly call out in the bush with it. It would always be a competition to see who would be the loudest. I'd never thought in a millions years that I'd ever have to properly use the call.

"Cooee!"

No one responded. I sighed and slumped in defeat, cradling my knees.

"This cannot be happening. I am not dying in a hole." I mumbled to myself in a mixture of annoyance and conviction. Deciding it was no use to sulk and pity myself, I pulled myself up onto my feet and spun around to try and look for a way out. My eyes were gradually adjusting to the darkness, and eventually I could see a slight light right ahead of me. Presenting as my only option, I chose to follow it and see where it lead me. As l proceed forward, I realised I must've slipped into some hidden cave. The walls were made out of dark graphite and the floor was sandy. The light became brighter and suddenly the little tunnel I was in opened up to a magnificent scene.

"No bloody way." I whispered in disbelief as I gaped at the place around me. It couldn't be real. No way in hell could this place be real. I was dreaming. I had to be.

Graphite surrounded me in walls that lead up to hundreds of metres in height. A mouth was open at the top of the cave where the light from the stars shone down, illuminating a mysterious deep blue pool of water that was right in front of me. My mouth dropped in reaction to see the splitting image of one of the sets from a tv show I had started watching a few years back. _The moon pool._

This was impossible.

My feet led me on their own accord, my mind too numb in shock to realise what my body was doing. I stopped right at the edge of the pool and looked up. The night sky was open before me, shining brilliantly, almost winking at me. I snapped out of my entrancement and looked down at the stunning pool of water before me. A glint of something caught my eye under the water. Something crystal-like shimmered down on the sand bank and for some reason it was drawing me in, drawing me closer to the water. I bent over to try and get a better look at the mysterious object but I seemed to overestimate my balance. Next thing I knew, I was toppling face first into the water and with no one to catch me from my fall. I braced myself for the shock of cold water, but surprisingly the temperature was nice and warm. When I thought about it actually, being submerged was quite pleasant...very peaceful. The water flowed around me in a warm hug and the sound of the ocean hypnotised me, encouraging me to close my eyes. It was like I could of stayed there for hours...forever.

My mind snapped to awareness suddenly, realising my need for oxygen. Reality came back to me like a slap to the face and I was no longer feeling as pleasant. I swam back up in a panic, my lungs gasping for air as soon I broke the surface. I spluttered and coughed, breathing heavily in as my mind tried to wrap around what just happened under water.

That was freakishly weird. It was almost like...I was drugged or controlled or something.

I shook my head to flick away my hair from my eyes and then swam to the edge of the pool to hold myself up. I was halfway getting up out of the water when a bright blue light flashed in the corner of my eye. Although I was still slightly freaked out from my previous experience, my curiosity decided to get the better of me. So I did a very stupid thing and followed the light. I turned back around to the pool and spotted the source of the light down at the bottom of the pool. It was that weird crystal I saw before! This time though, it was _glowing_. Taking a deep breath, I dived straight down and swam to the sea floor on a mission to get it. Unbeknownst to me, as soon as I went underwater the moon began to appear overhead, causing a tremendous disturbance in the water. The pool started to bubble above me impossibly like a hot tub. Already nearing the bottom, I finally saw the blue crystal close up and was able to pick it up. It was about the size of a crayon, quite beautiful actually despite only being able to see a blurred image of it through the water. Satisfied with my finding, I decided to head back up...what I didn't realise though, was that I was heading right towards the biggest shock of my life.

The first thing that I saw when I was back up from underwater, was the bright light right in the sky - the full moon in all its glory. I stared in wonder at the beautiful celestial entity shining down. It was like a silver pearl, so gorgeous and unique. But unfortunately wonder soon turned into dreaded realisation, as I noticed my surrounding properly. The water was bubbling in a frenzy around me and I could see rising golden droplets of water heading magically towards the sky.

"Holy shit." I gasped in shock. I had to be dreaming. This couldn't be happening. What the hell was going on?!

I floated there frozen in shock at the unnatural elements surrounding me. For some reason I could not take my eyes away from the moon. It was like they were glued there for eternity. My vision started to blur as everything was all of a sudden getting brighter and brighter. The whole cave was being flooded by a magnificent sapphire blue light, filling every corner of darkness. The source of the light came from the centre of the moon pool where I was crystal that was held in my hand was burning hot through my skin. It grew hotter and hotter the brighter the blue light got. In one moment the light became too much and I was completely blinded, the moon shrouded in blue being the last thing that I saw. It was not long after that I lost all grips of consciousness, my last thoughts consisting only of water, magic and tails. Three things I knew would change my life forever.


End file.
